Key points:
• A trial date set for Devon Horton’s embezzlement case.
• Horton is accused of accepting and approving contracts with business partners that financially benefited him, totaling more than $85,000 in kickbacks, between 2021 and 2023.
• In January, he faced charges in DeKalb County alleging strangulation and child cruelty after an altercation with his wife.
A status hearing and trial date have been set in the federal case against former DeKalb County School District superintendent Devon Horton. The school district has also announced new details about a financial audit of Horton during his time as superintendent.
A trial date has been set for Oct. 21 for Horton, who was indicted in October 2025 by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on 17 counts of embezzlement, wire fraud, and tax fraud for alleged activities while he served as Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Joseph Fitzpatrick, assistant U.S. attorney, told Rough Draft Atlanta. A status hearing, with the judge and attorneys reviewing the progress in the case, is set for March 10.
The accusations
Horton is accused of accepting and approving contracts with business partners that financially benefited him, totaling more than $85,000 in kickbacks, between 2021 and 2023. Horton and co-defendants Samuel Ross, Antonio Ross, and Alfonzo Lewis have all pleaded not guilty.
In October, Horton’s attorney, Terence Campbell, wrote in a statement that Horton tackled “tough issues under difficult circumstances” at the district.
“The truth is,” Campbell wrote, “his leadership bettered the school system for the children and families of District 65. Dr. Horton is eager to address his case in court and is glad that the process has now begun.”
Related story:
• ‘Stand with us:’ DeKalb School officials ask for support after federal indictment of former superintendent
Troubles in DeKalb
Once the 37-page indictment was released, Horton resigned, with the DeKalb County Board of Education voting 6-1 to accept it. Horton had led the district since 2023. The district continued to pay Horton, who received an annual salary of about $360,000, until mid-November.
The board later approved a third-party audit of Horton’s financial records, which began in November and is slated to be complete by the end of April, Jennifer Caracciolo, DCSD’s deputy chief communications officer, told Rough Draft Atlanta.
“District staff have worked with the audit firm to provide direct, secure, and unfiltered access to financial records, document repositories, and electronic communications platforms, ” Caracciolo said. “This process is designed to ensure the audit remains objective and unbiased, with minimal reliance on internal staff to produce requested materials.”
Due to the “evidentiary nature of the forensic review, findings and recommendations,” the district will not release details of the audit until the work and an analysis have been completed.
Outside of Horton’s legal troubles in Illinois, allegations about his personal life landed him in the DeKalb County Jail in January. On Jan. 17, Horton was booked on strangulation and child cruelty charges after an alleged physical altercation with his wife that occurred with his children present. He was released on Jan. 19, and Campbell later issued a statement that the argument had “absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with their children.”
“Dr. Horton is a loving and devoted father to his children,” Campbell said. “This is really a personal matter between husband and wife, and Dr. Horton’s wife is fully supportive of him and does not want charges pursued.”
A trial date has not been set for those charges.